Weapons
by silversurf4
Summary: Crews and Reese discover an unusual thing in a crime scene and it changes their future. Unbeta'd, And I own "nada, zip, zero", but my own imagination and a sense of adventure. My thanks to CrewsZen for motivation - a story about redemption & faith.
1. Chapter 1 Mind Altering Drugs

Dani remembered the day Crews came for her, like it was an event from the distant past, although it was still happening. She vaguely realized it must be the sedative, the paramedics gave it to her as the whole event turned into a circus. Shortly after Crews "rescued" her, that's what Tidwell kept calling it, the moment vanished. She just wanted a little more time, but there was no time. There was nothing but time, but none for them. There were too many people. Too many other eyes. Even as she was staring into Crews' eyes through the windshield, she could feel Agent Bodner there, in that same moment with them.

As Reese was ushered into a car for a trip to the hospital, she watched as they led Crews away again. She thought he seemed more concerned as they put him in the back of the unmarked, than when Roman's men took him away. Of course, Crews had no reason to trust the LAPD, did he? They had sold him down the river before.

He held her eyes, just like before, until an officer put his hand on Crews neck and forced him down into the car. His eyes were the dark pewter gray of a storm cloud. Tidwell was instructing the officers to take her to the hospital and telling he'd be right behind her, but all she could think to say to him was "Crews".

"I know" he said. "I have to go there first to deal with this. He's in the mess because of me. I sent him to find you because I knew he was the only one with a chance of pulling this off. I'll get him out of it Dani, I mean Detective." His eyes made a solemn promise that he would not leave Crews hanging and Dani believed him, she believed in him. She knew Kevin Tidwell had a lot flaws but disloyalty was not among them. She nodded and let herself be led away.

At the hospital, there was so much noise, so much light. Not the bright, warm, clean light of the sun, but the greenish, harsh, glaring light of fluorescent fixtures accompanied by the offensive smells of rubber gloves and antiseptic. After a week of being kept in basement, under a hood, the light, the constant noise and all the people in aqua drab rushing everywhere – it was just too much. Dani began to shut down. She needed some Zen to get through this Dani thought absently, knowing what she really needed was Crews.

The doctors wanted to examine her for signs of the things Roman might have done to her, they wouldn't accept that Roman never touched her. He was content to use her - to get to Crews. Sure he leered at her, taunted her and even raked his fingers over certain areas deliberately, but he didn't abuse her. Even Roman was unsure enough of Crews to go that far. She could sense it in him and she used it to provoke him.

"What is it Roman? Things not going according to plan? He's getting closer isn't he? He's out there, but he's getting closer…and you're hiding in this basement. Connection by connection…until he's right in front of you." She'd said.

"That is where I want him" Roman scream back at her, as if to convince himself he was still control.

"Sounds like you're in love, Roman" she taunted him in return, prompting a vicious backhand from him. Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes from the sting, fooling him into thinking he'd made her cry, but Dani Reese did not cry easily. Not even when Roman told her he'd killed her father.

Her hospital room was a whirlwind of activity. Police brass and doctors, people she didn't know talking in hushed tones into cell phones – which were not even permitted in hospital, but were in her room in abundance. She was there, but not there and wondered where Crews was.

Then Tidwell arrived as promised about an hour later, with her mother in tow. Dani complained bitterly, when the nurse informed them both she was "resting comfortably being held overnight for observation". Cursing in Farsi, Dani switched to English to advise everyone she "just wanted to go home", prompting the nurse to take Tidwell outside.

Dani had been administered a sedative and the room was darkened to help her sleep. Her circle of appreciable stimuli began to diminish, until she could only really focus on things inside the small the circle of yellow light cast by the bedside lamp. She began to drift in and out. Her long nightmare over, Dani began to give herself over to sleep. Her mother sat beside her stroking her hair as she had when Dani was a child.

"Dani, are you well?" she asked. She had plenty of anger, but none for her long suffering mother. She sighed and looked at her mother "Yes, mom. I'm fine _inshallah" _almost as an after thought. The Arabic for 'as god wills' a saying from her mother's culture that Dani hardly used except with her.

"Crews came for me" she confided.

They spoke in hushed tones in the dark, but had never had a more serious conversation. "This man, this Kevin. He is your boyfriend?" her mother inquired softly.

"Yes… well, sort of….yes" Dani settled on, averting her eyes.

"He seems very concerned for you, but this man Charlie, he comes to rescue you from this monster, Roman?" Dani's mother asked. "What is he to you?"

Leave it to her mother to cut right to quick. She considered that staying married to Jack Reese for thirty years required the patience and wisdom of a saint. _What was Crews to her?_ She wondered. Lunatic, knife wielding, fruit obsessed, driving her crazy with his Zen exuberant ten year old boy partner or vengeful, dark, heroic partner? _What kind of partner_ she thought absently. Partners…

Realizing she had yet to answer, Dani confessed. "Crews is…" she trailed off. "Crews is hard to explain….he's my partner, mom...He's different."

"This man Charlie risked his life to bring you home safe to us. I think he loves you very much Dani." Her mother stated flatly. "You must choose Dani, between those who say they love you and the one who proves it." Her mother pronounced.

Dani shot her mother a very dirty look, but they had the same temperament and neither woman yielded. Her mother continued "The Arab's have a saying 'he who speaks the truth should have on foot in the stirrup' – I know you will not like what I have said, but you must chose Dani or you will lose them both" her mother counseled. "I will go now" her mother said and quietly slipped out of the room and Dani let sleep overtake her.

But the damage was done, Dani slept fitfully, dreaming of Tidwell and Crews and difficult choices. She dreamed she was awake, fighting sleep, fighting to stay awake, fighting to stay in the moment. She saw people milling around, her mother talking with Tidwell, Tidwell holding her hand and talking to her, kissing her forehead and each time she fought to open her eyes, there - behind everyone else - standing quietly and still as a statue against the wall just outside the circle of light was Crews. He looked at her and he looked through her - with his piercing blue eyes, but he always held her gaze and never looked away.

In her dreams her father was there and he was saying "if you chase two rabbits you catch neither", but that was not possible, _Roman said her father was dead_. Then she saw her father standing in the Lieutenant's office angrily shaking his finger at Crews, threatening him, Crews was smiling. Then it wasn't her father it was Tidwell, shaking his finger at Crews, Crews was smiling.

Crews was always smiling. Her father hated Crews. Her father possibly involved with putting Crews in prison for twelve years, 241 stitches Stark had said…she saw Crews lying battered and broken on a cold prison floor. She woke up crying and still Crews was there.

It had been hours, long after visiting hours were over, the hospital was empty, dark and quiet. Crews crept into her room after hours with IAD, who did not have enough to arrest him, _but then no one had found Roman's body yet either_, he thought. Tidwell helped spring him from IAD, but only the specter of his earlier wrongful imprisonment kept them from locking him up again. In a cage, _I can't go back in a cage,_ Charlie thought. _I may only have a few hours,_ Charlie thought. He had all the money in the world and could have gone anywhere, but there was only one place he needed to be and that was with Reese. After all they had been through, a simple thing like visiting hours would not stop him.

He pulled a chair up alongside her bed and Crews watched her as she slept. For moments she was peaceful, still, angelic, very un-Reese like; then her brow knitted and she tensed, she was dreaming and it was not pleasant. She writhed in her sleep, coiled like a spring and tossed. Reese was always moving, awake or asleep, he thought. She reminded him of a wild animal placed in a cage. Charlie knew cages and he knew how Reese would hate a cage. He thought about the hell of the past few days for Reese and cursed himself for not killing Roman slower.

The wild side of Reese was just about all he'd seen, but there were glimpses of the quiet, shy, peacefulness he knew lurked deep inside her. That was all before, but Charlie could see more now, she seemed clearer to him magnified as if looking through still, deep, very clear water. She could be calm, silent, at peace, like the earth as seen from above, like a child sleeping without cares and worries. He wanted this for her. She mumbled something unintelligible in her sleep and he leaned close, smoothed her brow and touched his lips to her forehead. He spoke in a whisper "Sssh. It's okay, you're safe Reese. " When he withdrew, Reese's eyes were open and full of tears.

"What is it honey?" he asked softly. Normally, any type of endearment would have earned him a look of scorn from Reese, but she seemed not to notice it, cloaked in a veil of sedative. Instead unconvinced he was really there, she reached out for him a second time that day. Her fingers brushed gently along the side of his face and jaw. Her eyes wore the glaze of drugs and she wasn't really there at all he realized. "So much pain" she said, gently touching his face. Crews was perplexed by her reaction and rendered speechless. He opened his mouth, but no words would come. _After a week of being held hostage by Roman, she was concerned about him?_

"Crews… "she pleaded in tears "I'm so sorry". He was still shaken by her vulnerability Crews was worried "Honey, you have nothing to be sorry for" he tried gently. "Tell me why you are crying, Reese. What did he do to you?" Crews was himself bordering on tears. _Killing had been too good for Roman. If he made her cry, made Dani cry, if he hurt her…. _Charlie blinked back his own tears and thumbed hers away from her cheek. "Baby, please don't cry. Tell me what to do."

"Crews…. I" she never finished as he climbed into the bed beside her and gathered her into his arms. "Sssh" he said as he pressed kisses into her hair. "Dani, please. Tell me what to do". She clung to him, grabbing at the material of his shirt, burying her face in his chest. He stroked her back and rocked her gently. He considered digging Roman up from whatever shallow roadside grave the Russians dumped him in and driving over his dead body repeatedly with a very heavy truck, regardless of the consequences. At this particular moment, nothing frightened him more than the thought of what reduced his fierce, tough, vibrant, young partner to tears.

It took a few moments for Reese to still. They sat together, unsure of what to do, she was awake now but not fully in control. She composed herself and sat back, looking at him - no, not looking at him - looking into him Crews thought. The look on her face made his heart hurt. "I should go" Crews said. The warmth of Reese, the smell of her hair and the curves of her body awakened feelings in him that partners shouldn't have for each other. He needed to put some space between them. He was prepared to leave, but she made a simple one word request that broke his heart. "Stay" she asked quietly.

Dani hated feeling needy, but she wanted him there – close - she want that more than she wanted to breath at this point. Crews said nothing as he sat back against the headboard of the small hospital bed, gathered her to his chest and held her tightly in his arms. As their, breathing patterns began to match, Dani relaxed and dozed off. As she drifted off to sleep Crews promised her "I can stay as long as you need me". He could have sworn he heard her say "forever", but he figured he was dreaming, as they both fell asleep.

Kevin Tidwell shaved, showered and dressed in the neat grey suit Dani bought him. He bought a small bouquet of flowers and stopped by the hospital, well before his shift began, to look in on his favorite Detective. When he opened the door to her room, he saw her curled against the chest of Charlie Crews, whose arms were wrapped protectively around her. Neither was awake. He sighed quietly. Tidwell had a problem.

Tidwell knew there was special link between Dani and Crews. When she was on loan to the FBI, Crews talked to Dani more than Tidwell. When Tidwell did talk to Dani, Crews frequently crept into their conversation. But when faced with the thought of losing her, Tidwell went to Crews for help. He somehow sensed the deep of feeling Crews had for Reese, though Crews was careful not to say it or show it. He was not unaware of their link and often watched them function together. They were a good team, nope, a great team. There was a degree of trust, a bond and a connection - something intangible, unnamable, something that defied definition that you could not compete with. And as much as Tidwell feared losing her to Crews, he feared her being harmed more than anything.

Tidwell knew she was out of his league when he began pursuing her, didn't really know why she decided to give him a shot, but he was glad she did. He loved her, but he had no illusions...he never knew how long it would last. But this...this was a serious problem. You didn't have a girlfriend who slept this comfortably in the arms of another man. HE had a girlfriend - and you had a problem. Crews' eyes blinked open and he looked directly at Tidwell.

They had this unspoken discussion about Dani Reese before. Sometimes in the conference room, a couple times in the hallway, but this one – this was the one. Crews levelly returned Tidwell's stare, his eyes said "mine" and dared Tidwell to come get her. Tidwell walked to the edge of the bed, holding Crews' eyes the entire way. Crews never moved, not an inch, Tidwell wasn't even sure Crews breathed, but as Tidwell placed the flowers on the bedside stand Dani stirred slightly, capturing both men's attention and eyes. The name she spoke sealed his fate.

"Crews" she said sleepily. "Sssh" he said with a whisper against her forehead "it's early, go back to sleep, honey" and to Tidwell's great surprise - she did. No discussion about her dislike of pet names and endearments, no argument, no dirty looks or raised eyebrows – just a sigh, a smile graced her relaxed features and compliance. Tidwell was a proud man, but he knew when he was beaten. He nodded twice to Crews and backed slowly out of the room. "You take care of her." He warned in a low whisper "take damned good care of her Crews" he warned. Crews smiled slightly and nodded once in the affirmative. Charlie would protect her with his life - they both knew it.


	2. Chapter 2 Knives

It had been a week since Crews got her back from Roman, Dani refused to think of it as "rescued", no matter how many times Tidwell said it.

Right now, Tidwell was going on about again about how happy he was to have her back. Reese was glad to be back – she just wasn't happy to be here. She wanted to be back on the street – back with Crews.

Then Tidwell was staring at her like she was supposed to respond to something he'd just said; something she wasn't listening to and hadn't heard. She felt bad, but simply shrugged and that was sufficient for him to continue.

Dani Reese did not consider herself an introspective person. But weeks of the FBI pressuring her to become an informant against Crews forced her to consider a lot of things. Her relationship with Tidwell, her position with the Department and lastly and most importantly her relationship with her fruitcake enigmatic partner, Charlie Crews.

During that time, she considered her relationship with the rumpled Captain of Detectives. Tidwell was oddly able to circumnavigate her carefully constructed defenses. He wasn't terribly good looking, but he was attractive, confident and usually and surprisingly charming - when he wasn't talking too much. She liked the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled and his self-effacing humor. While he was not her usual "bad boy"; he was bad enough for tats and three ex-wives. His NYC accent was growing on her, like an episode of the Sopranos. Tidwell was nice, safe, supportive and it was beginning to wear on Dani.

She needed to get back to work – back to Crews.

Something the FBI asked her on her polygraph nagged at her conscience...Her reasons for joining LAPD. They were no longer clear to her and very mixed up with her need to earn her father's approval. Jack Reese never had time for his daughter. SWAT Team leader and ranking member of the department, their house was full of cops – parties, barbeques, poker games. He was well known to everyone but her. Alone in their home, he was not the gregarious, tough SWAT guy, but a sadistic man who was impossible to please and who drank too much. Maybe this was why she sought out troubled men.

Lastly, her relationship with Crews. It was based on nothing tangible, nothing tied them together. They were both deeply flawed people. People the system had broken, but both survivors. As she sat hooded in the dank basement of one of Roman's warehouses while people, shuffled and talked around her, she had ample time to examine her fears and hopes. What she discovered was how many of her hopes and fears involved Charlie Crews. She knew with certainty that Crews would find her - or dying trying. She remembered their first case together when he'd asked her "Looks like the dog took a bullet for the kid and then took off the finger of the shooter. Anybody ever love you that much?" The answer then was no. The answer now - well, it confused her. She saw something she didn't want to see, something she wasn't ready to see. She saw her partner, Charlie Crews, the man who had surrendered his life for hers in trade.

At times he he was a complete enigma; capable of unfathomable cheerfulness, tuned into things that other people missed, but then there was his darker side. Charlie Crews also a stone cold killer. The switch in him that triggered the change from a rambunctious ten year old boy in awe of the world at large to cold, focused killer was milliseconds. What provoked that change was something she didn't quite understand, but was immensely thankful for.

Over the past week, snippets of information leaked in through phone calls, the ones to her, about her and the quiet, hushed ones Tidwell tried to have when he thought she wasn't listening. Roman's body was found in a burned out Cadillac Escalade, but the ME determined his death was from asphyxia, a single blow to the throat.

Reese knew Crews delivered that blow – without ever asking – she knew. Crews, who could gain the trust of even the most suspicious, shy and reserved child, had snuffed out Roman's life with sufficient force to crush Roman's windpipe and watched him suffocate. It made her perversely happy to know that Crews killed Roman and she wondered if he did it for her.

She was thinking about the first discussion they would have, when Tidwell stopped coddling her and the Department cleared them both to return to work. She the questions she had tumbled over each other in her mind.

_Did he see himself killing Roman before it happened? Did he like it?_

_Did Roman really kill her father? She knew Crews would help her find out._

_What did Crews do to the Corrections Officer in Pelican Bay? _

_Was it the same lethal blow to the throat? _

Probably not, she reasoned. If Crews killed a prison guard, they'd have never released him – even if he didn't murder the Seybolts. Still…she had wondered about it from the first day of their first case together – when they visited Mark Rawls in prison and those guards got in Crews' face, trying to provoke him. After his conduct at the crime scene and that scene at boy's parents house, she expected the worst. Dani replayed the scene in her mind…

"Yeah, we know who you are. Know you did your twelve years. Maybe you were innocent. Maybe not. It don't make no difference to us, because we know what you did to that correction officer in Pelican Bay. That makes you a con. Don't it?" She remembered the guard - angry and hostile, "You gettin' angry, convict?"

Reese could still see the tight smile on his Crews' face. He was restrained, not relaxed, but spoke in a tone that belied the stress he felt. "Anger ruins joy. Steals the goodness of my mind. Forces my mouth to say terrible things. Overcoming anger brings peace of mind. Leads to a mind without regrets. If I overcome anger, I will be delightful and loved by everyone."

The stunned look on the guard's face was priceless. "Are you making fun of us?" continuing his effort to provoke Crews. Calmly, Crews responded "It is the universe that makes fun of us all."

Reese remembered being impressed. Most male officers, even seasoned detectives had a hard time walking away from a direct challenge. All the testosterone coursing through their veins, most guys can't walk away, but Crews did and he did it with style.

Outside she checked to see if he really was as calm, cool and collected as he seemed._ "_Why would the universe make fun of us all?" she asked. "Maybe it's insecure." He quipped. She remembered distinctly thinking _maybe this guy will work out – maybe he's not such a nut roll after all._

Strangely, Dani was neither fearful nor apprehensive about being reunited with her partner. She looked forward to it, like one did coming home after a long trip. She craved their connection. Without him, she felt unfettered and off balance; he was a "known" to her, but he was also an "unknown" – _cute, she thought how very Zen, how absolutely Charlie Crews. _

Most people would be uneasy knowing someone who sat three feet from them in a unmarked or parked at a desk staring them in the face all day - had just killed a man with his bare hands, Reese wasn't. She smiled - wondering why he hadn't just used that damned knife of his? The one she took from him and then gave back – after she'd realized he could kill with more than a knife.

The knife was just a tool – Crews was the weapon.


	3. Chapter 3 Jackhammer

It was three days after they'd released Dani Reese from the hospital. Four days after Crews has wrested her from Roman Nevikov and Charlie Crews had a serious problem. He needed someone to talk to.

Ted was gone – to Spain - from the looks of his note, and although the reason was not entirely clear, Charlie was pretty certain it had to do with a girl - his father's fiancée Olivia to be precise. Normally, if he need to talk to someone he'd talk to Ted…or Reese. But this time Reese, well…Reese WAS the problem.

Crews tried not to examine his feelings, but he kept replaying the joy in his heart when Roman pulled her unharmed from the car. He wanted the feeling to be relief. Relief, that a friend was safe; but the flutter in his heart when she touched him was unmistakable. It was same way he'd felt on prom night with Jen; the same lightheadedness bordering on dizzy he'd felt the first time he's seen a sleek, fast, expensive car. In all the excitement of dispatching Roman he'd been able to push it out of his mind and in the days that followed Charlie tried hard to delude himself.

Then there was the hospital that night after she'd been sedated. He wasn't even sure Reese remembered, but the vulnerability she showed made Charlie Crews become fiercely protective, possessive of his little raven haired partner. She slept in his arms and it was one of the hardest thing he'd had to do in recent memory - to slide from under her warm sleeping body and slip quietly out of the hospital.

After her discharge from the hospital, Reese hadn't called, but he realized her mother was probably "mothering" and Tidwell – despite their unspoken exchange in the hospital, was not throwing in the towel. He was making himself indispensable to Dani's mother and even took a week off to be with Dani. This chaffed Charlie more than he cared to admit.

All the time Charlie spent in solitary made him very aware…and with awareness came certain wonderful things that no one else saw, but it also made it harder to hide from the harsh light of awareness turned inward. No matter how many times he repeated his mantra…."I am not attached to this…." It didn't come close to applying in this instance.

And so on day four, following their escape from Rayborn and Roman, Crews finally allowed himself to accept the fact that he loved Dani Reese.

He then tried desperately to rationalize it as paternal love, but he wasn't THAT old. He then decided if was fraternal, brotherly…until the dreams came. There was nothing brotherly about his dreams.

In them Dani was always wearing that white tank top, sometimes she was in the shower of that crack house, reaching for him. He knew it was not something he should be thinking about, but his subconscious refused to obey and no amount of meditation could erase Reese from his mind…or his dreams.

Crews hadn't seen Reese in over a week. Actually he hadn't seen her for several weeks because when she was at the FBI he didn't see her - but they talked a lot. This somehow seemed worse. He distinctly remembered the sound of her voice in the stairwell of the Coroner's office asking him if there was "still room in the car for her?" He never remembered Reese sounding so vulnerable and it concerned him. Of course, her being kidnapped occupied him so entirely that he had little time to consider that until now. Now he had nothing but time – and no one to talk to.

He considered calling Deepra, but thought this really wouldn't qualify as a service issue so he decided against it. Charlie considered how small his world of friends was. Bobby Stark was out of the question because with Bobby this would become a discussion of how "hot" Reese was and that really wouldn't help – with the dreams especially. Charlie did not need to be reminded of the curves and angles of Dani Reese, he envisioned more than he should.

He took some comfort in knowing Reese was home, safe and sound, being shadowed by Tidwell who was concerned she might vanish again. Charlie smiled as he envisioned how absolutely berserk Reese must be right now. She did not like being pampered or coddled. She deserved it, he thought, but she'd never tolerate it. Reese was probably climbing the walls…he was thinking when his phone rang… to his great surprise it was Dani Reese.

"Crews" he answered brightly.

"Crews" Reese hissed quietly. "You've got to get me out of here."

"Reese.." He spoke her name in a long sigh. "You are supposed to be resting and recuperating." He chided her.

"I AM rested" Reese said in an angry shouted whisper "and we need to talk" she added.

"Reese, I'm not sure Tidwell would like us…" he began.

"Tidwell is driving me nuts." Dani sighed.

"Are you sure? because you usually say I'm driving you nuts, but you're not nuts Reese. In fact you may be the most sane person I know – not that I now a lot of people…" He paused … "Guess I should know more….but like I told Seever, I've been away…" he continued.

"Crews" Reese snapped. But he could he the agitation in her voice ease with his superfluous ramblings. He knew she needed him to be – himself, her partner, not her protector or her lover, just Crews.

Reese listened as Charlie Crews rambled as only Crews could. She couldn't shake the feeling of him holding her, although she'd convinced herself she dreamed it.

Both were only half in the conversation, not there at all, locked in their own vague recall and imagined future. Charlie continued knowing that she needed the constancy to unwind and become familiar with them again. "Reese" he continued" did you know that it takes the average pineapple six weeks to ripen and only four days from being placed on your grocery store shelf. Think of it, six long weeks to mature, ripen become the perfect pineapple and then in just four days, four days….it can be on your kitchen table. This perfect blend of acidic and sweet, yellow as the sunshine and juicy goodness, God I love pineapple Reese" he wound down.

Crews had already walk to his car and begun driving to her as he spoke.

"Crews?" she interrupted more softly "are you coming or not?"

"I'm already on my way" he smiled into the phone. "Meet me at the park across the street from your place. Top of the stairs. Tell him you need to go for a run." Charlie said, knowing Tidwell was not likely to follow Dani on one of her punishing runs.

Twenty minutes later he was sitting behind the wheel, when Dani Reese emerged from the stone staircase and into the street. She hadn't wasted the opportunity to actually exercise. She looked good, Crews thought, adding "healthy" to his thoughts -to qualify it. He must remember not to think of Reese as a pretty girl and remember she was his partner.

She saw him up the street, sitting in the car with the windows down, wearing his trademark sienna shades and a smile. She nodded and slowed to a walk while removing her ear buds and smiling. Her hair was in a ponytail that bounced when she walked.

Charlie took a long look at her as she approached. She was wearing sneakers and black boy shorts – the kind that looked tight, but weren't and showed off both her legs and her ass. He was still okay, until he noticed her shirt was the white tank top from his dreams. That was when his heart began to beat like a jackhammer in his chest. His shirt felt tight and his car too warm. He got out, couldn't sit that close to her, he thought.

"Hey" she said in Reese's way of greeting. He'd meet women who would shriek and hug and fuss over you when they saw you in a restaurant or mall, but he'd given them all up for one of Reese's shy smiles and a simple "hey" from her.

"Crews?" she questioned, making Charlie realize he was still staring at her.

"Yeah, hi. You look good." He said, suddenly wanting to slap himself in the forehead.

"I feel good" Reese admitted, not at all understand the double entendre Charlie's brain made into that comment.

"Sooo, where would you like to go?" was all he could think to say. Silently, he cursed himself for putting them back in the car. But all he could think was _does she think this is a weird as I do? _

Dani eyed the car. Another exotic foreign job from the long list of ones he'd always wanted to drive, but could never afford before prison.

"Let's walk awhile, I'd hate to get that pretty car of yours all sweaty" she replied.

_Geez_, he thought _is she saying these things on purpose_ as Charlie's mind hopped into the backseat of the car, figuring out if there was enough room to accommodate them.

"Crews? You here?" she questioned.

He shook his head to loosen the thoughts and refocus, but when he did she was closer and concerned. "I…what…yes…. Fine" he stammered. "Let's walk" he offered.

The walked into the quiet coolness and dappled sunlight that only old shade trees can provide and meandered along a wide path until they could no longer hear the noise of the street. The grasses and trees, damp with morning dew, shone in the sun like they were wearing jewels. They approached a black wrought iron bench with wooden slats warmed by the sun and sat down.

Nothing was said between them and Dani thought _great, I told him we need to talk and then don't say anything. _There were so many things she wanted to say, that she didn't know where to begin. Charlie knew Dani took time with her thoughts and was careful with how much she revealed. He wanted to be patient with her but also ached to touch her again.

She composed herself and turned to face him. _You can do this_ she thought, _it's just Crews._ A slight breeze lifted a strand of hair across her face and she wiped it away returning her eyes to his, hidden behind the glow of his strange orange lens. Charlie couldn't speak because he was simply mesmerized by the sweat on her upper lip and in the hollow of her breast, which he had a good view of - given their height difference. She'd missed part of her hair, which still stuck to the side of her face.

Charlie didn't think, he simply moved - his hand to her cheek, gently brushing the strand of hair back and tucking it behind her tiny ear. To his great surprise, Dani neither batted his hand away nor move away from him, she blushed and it was then he realized he was not alone in this adventure, she felt it too. Electricity crackled through the air between them.

"Reese" he said softly, his voice filled the emotion of days that felt more like weeks without seeing her. He felt like he was really seeing her for the first time. She wasn't in shock from being held captive by Roman, she wasn't delirious from sedatives to help her sleep, she was there – now- in the beautiful sunshine, alive, healthy and her dark eyes looked right into his soul.

She wet her lips nervously and then the smile appeared, his smile, the one she showed no one else, not Tidwell, not those men in the bars, just him. Charlie Crews began to feel possessive and attached to something for the first time in many, many years. _This is mine,_ he thought, _I want this to be mine. I want her to want me, only me. I am so attached to this woman._

His heart was beating wildly, hammering in his chest. His mouth was dry and he felt like he'd swallow a mouth full of chalk. Her lips looked so inviting to him, like a cool drink of water to a man wandering in the desert. He leaned in closer to her, covering her with his shadow.

Dani didn't pull away when Crews touched her, she'd hoped for contact with him all morning. She had to know if what she'd felt in that orange grove a week ago was real. He'd made her faint just smiling. The urge to touch him was overwhelming then, as it was now. She closed her eyes and smiled. It was the same for him.

Charlie was quite close now, he could taste the saltiness of her sweat and feel the heat radiating off of her still energized body. She was so incredibly close and he felt drawn to her as he had no one ever before. Leaning closer still, he whispered her name across their lips like a prayer, before kissing her.

The sensation of kissing Crews was nothing like she imagined. He was tender and gentle, almost reverent in his approach. But when she didn't reject him, Crews became more fervent, sliding his hand to her throat pulling her close to him, under him. She was breathless and the release of emotion resulted in her moaning into his mouth. He growled an unintelligible response and reached for her with both hands.

A child's cry cut the air and they both froze remembering they were in a public park. Crews eyes were dark and his voice was low when he said "Come with me." It wasn't a request, it was a demand and he held her hand and drew her with him. They walked further into the park and departed the path into a small glen. Charlie took off his sweatshirt and laid it on the ground. He sat down and patted the shirt on the ground beside him. "Come're" he said.

Dani was standing looking down at him, dressed in jeans, and a white t-shirt, he looked long and lean. The sun highlighted the reds and blondes in his hair. The scars on his arm, the ones his long sleeved dress shirts hid so well were visible, but so were the freckles and reddish hairs there. She smiled at the way he seemed to be always two things at once; broken and whole, joyful and sad, gentle and dangerous. He was everything all at once, she realized. He was everything to her.

She sunk to her knees on his sweatshirt and looked down at him. This was the point of no return, she realized. This move was entirely hers – he made the first and this was going to be all her. He smiled at her, all white teeth and bright blue green eyes, the color of the sea. In that instant she made her decision, putting both hands in the middle of his chest, she pushed him to the ground and kissed him hard. She wanted to leave no doubt about what she wanted and how she felt.

Charlie ran his hands up her torso, along the ribbed white tank top from his dreams and hooked his hands under her arms and lifted her onto him. Dani set straddling him backlit by the sun. She looked like a Hindu goddess, Charlie thought. Dani smiled at him and murmured his name almost subconsciously "Crews", she breathed.

He placed his hands on either side of her face and pulled her to him, stopping her just short of his lips. Charlie stopped her with his hands and demanded her eyes, Dani was perplexed with this hesitation until he spoke. "Say my name" he said. She shook her head no.

Again Crews demanded "say my name, Dani". It was as if, without it, it wouldn't be real. They would still be Crews and Reese, not Charlie and Dani. He was asking to be inside her personal space, not just sex – intimacy. "Crews… she started.

"No, say my name Dani", he demanded. He wanted to kiss her, she could tell and she tried to close the gap. If she could just get past this, he would forget it. But Crews was not giving in and would not let her kiss him. He stopped her short and looked directly into her soul.

It was a power struggle. Dani was comfortable with meaningless sexual encounters and if the department's rumor mill was to be believed Crews did okay with the ladies. Part of her didn't want to let him make it personal, but Charlie wouldn't let her. He wanted more from her than anyone had ever asked. He wanted total commitment to them, not a dalliance. This was serious, this was a life choice, this was forever. It was all there in his eyes, they sparkled and danced with life. But deep within them she felt herself getting lost. "No, I'll get lost" she said defiantly.

"You'll be with me, Dani. Even lost I will never let anyone hurt you, even lost and wandering you'll be safe with me. I love you, Dani" and there it was.

She became impossibly still and returned his gaze. He was not trying to be dominant, but he was not going to be used. This was real to him and his eyes pleaded with her to be serious. She could see all the times he was betrayed, left and alone there. She found she could not look away and for the first time in her life, she felt comfortable surrendering to his demand.

He saw the choice in her eyes and let her approach. She stopped herself, just short of his lips and breathed his name onto his face. "Charlie" she breathed as she kissed him.


	4. Chapter 4 Baseball Bat

It was their first case being back in the saddle. _God_, Dani thought _I really hate Tidwell's cowboy metaphors_. But right now she tried to focus as Tidwell was announcing the fact pattern to them both, while deliberately ignoring her and shooting daggers at Crews. She had to admit he multitasked pretty well.

"Caucasian male, early 40's, head bashed in with ….ha! An aluminum baseball bat…." Probably stole the wrong guy's girl", he said while looking pointedly at Crews.

Crews arched an eyebrow and took a half a step forward. Tidwell lowered his head and tightened his shoulders. _Jesus,_ she thought… _I do not need this drama. _

"Come on, Crews let's go", she said grabbing her partner by the lapels of his very expensive suit and dragged him out the door before the two of them could get into a fight. This prompted Charlie to smile and Reese to scowl at him all the way to the elevator. "Got an address Captain?" She shouted behind her. Tidwell's tone changed to an icy cool, slightly apologetic and lower tone as he offered it to her.

"7758 Halloway, Warehouse District…" He said. Then added lower, just for her ears "and Detective? Be careful". He still cared for her and worried each time that she left his sight, it might be for the last.

Tidwell let them go, but shouted after them, more specifically Crews…"betcha the dude had it coming".

The doors to the elevator shut, leaving them alone for the ride to the parking garage. Charlie pulled an apple from his suit pocket and began shining it on his sleeve and studiously ignoring what just occurred. Reese pulled the elevator stop button and looked up at him and ignoring their near foot height distance, she put on her most intimidating senior detective glare.

"Is this how it's going to be?" she asked him with a bit more bite than she intended.

"What?" Charlie said innocently, holding both hands out to his sides. She continued to stare pointedly at him raising her eyebrows. "He started it" Charlie continued sheepishly.

"You need to remember where we are…who we are…. He can make a lot of trouble for you, Crews" she said. She always called him Crews at work. Dani was very good at separating work from play. She always had been. Charlie had a hard time keeping his hands and eyes off his partner, turned lover. Perhaps it was because ever since prison – life was almost all play to him. _"Every day I spend above ground is a reason to celebrate" he'd told Carl Ames and he believed it._

He said nothing, but sighed heavily and acquiesced. "All right…I'll try harder." He said. Satisfied Reese pushed the stop button back in and they began to move again.

"You do that, Charlie." She added quietly to let him know it wasn't all his fault, she wasn't that mad and he hoped because when she said Charlie, it meant she was thinking about kissing him.

"Reese?" he beckoned to her just as they arrived in the parking garage. She turned to look at him. "You're gonna make a really good mom someday, because that – that look – that was scary." She rolled her eyes and stepped out quickly as soon as the doors opened, leaving Crews scrambling to catch up with his much smaller partner.

She was smiling, he knew, she just didn't want him to see her doing it.

He loved the insight into her mannerisms he was gaining. Everyday with Reese he was learning something new and wonderful about her, from the way he could get the hair to curl around his hand while she slept to what the set of her jaw and eyes meant. He was fascinated by her and had to remind himself not to watch her all the time. It kinda freaked her out.

"Reese" he continued. "Do you know why baseball is played with a bat?" he launched into one of the endless bits of trivia that he stored for car rides and generally to annoy her.

"All the other weapons were spoken for?" she offered.

"No" it's actually related to the English sport of Cricket and some people believe baseball actually came from Cricket and isn't really a unique sport at all but rather…" he rattled on.

"Uh, uh…no…no… " she said sharply reaching the car and turning to face him. "We are not going to talk….what am I saying…I don't talk….you talk…. You are not going to talk all the way to the crime scene about baseball, cricket, rugby or the origin of any other sport that I don't give a damn about."

Without realizing Reese had begun to pick up Crews talent for carrying on a conversation without input from anyone else and she had just done it. He stared at her and then she realized it. "Oh, god. I'm doing it again aren't I? Talking to myself?"

He simply smiled that enigmatic smile of his, the one that reached all the way to his eyes like he alone understood all things at all times. "Crews?" she questioned. "Aren't you going to say something?"

"About baseball?" he said then paused for effect "No way".

She sighed an exasperated noise that reminded him of a sound she could make in bed and climbed into the car, throwing herself behind the wheel and slamming the door.

"Not a word, Crews. Nothing - all the way to the scene. Or so help me, I'm putting you out on the street and going by myself." She gritted her teeth, throwing the unmarked into reverse and leaving the parking lot way too fast for the lighting there.

Charlie finally bit into the apple he'd been polishing loudly. She looked at him and he smiled brightly, but said nothing. He turned twenty degrees in his seat to enjoy an uninterrupted opportunity to look at her with no distractions. He could be in this moment….happily.

They arrived in the warehouse district to find 7785 Halloway was a done up studio loft style apartment for an aspiring artist. The thing about the briefing is that it never quite prepares you for the scene. Words can not accurately convey certain kinds of butchery and the smell of blood.

She should have known it was bad, by the way the uniforms were skulking around outside in the heat, instead of perched indoors fouling up the scene. The ways none of them would meet her eyes and the dour tone and quietness that pervaded the area. You could actually hear the clicking sound from the wigwags on their unmarked in the alley.

The first thing you notice when you enter a place where a lot of blood has been let is the smell, or more accurately the taste. It was slightly metallic, tinny, like sucking on a copper penny and sticky like molasses as blood ceased being blood and began to congeal into gelatinous substance like some sick version of a jello mold.

Crews said what everyone was thinking "there's so much blood", stating the obvious, but it still needed to be said. It was literally everywhere. Reese knew now why they never said who the deceased was, you really couldn't tell. He was literally beaten to a pulp.

Blood spatter lined the walls and the ceiling, "medium velocity spatter consistent with a large object being swung repeatedly" Reese pronounced clinically as she snapped on rubber gloves and picked a path to the body. "Basic rule of blood spatter holds the first blow is the freebie, after that each additional strike picks up blood and consecutive blows sling it off the end of the object – in this case a baseball bat in an arch."

"There's a void over there" she continued "meaning something was there when the blood was being sprayed, but removed before we got here. Need to check with the uniforms. Have them start a canvas, maybe someone saw someone leaving." Reese noticed the absence of Crews in the conversation and turned to find him staring at the area furthest from the actual scene.

"So much blood" Crews said again, his head cocked to the side she could tell he was seeing something no one else did, as he usually did. Most of the time it was something important. But something in his face made Dani focused not on where he was looking but Crews himself.

"Crews?" Reese asked softly. "What is it?"

She had not realized her natural tendency to become more attuned to him until that instant. She could feel his unease and it became hers. He looked back at the void and then again beyond the scene. Reese walked to where he stood to gain his perspective, hoping that standing in his space would give her insight into what was going on in his head.

When that did not work, Reese resorted to physicality, grabbing his tie and forcing him to focus on her. She looked into his eyes willing him to her "Crews. What do you see?" she asked quietly.

When she got no response she asked more softly, "Charlie?" effectively communicating her fear by slipping into the personal while at work. Reese never did that.

The sound of his name from her lips caused Crews to look at her mouth. He began to hear what she'd been asking him "what do you see?"

"The void…" Crews began "it's so small…". He looked again at the space created when something got between the blood on the object and the surface it was being slung onto. "If someone ran from her covered with blood…." Crews trailed off.

"Some one would have seen them" Reese finished. "Unless…"

"Unless they are still here." Crews finished.

Now his apprehension was her apprehension. Both unholstered their weapons and began angling through the scene, moving closely together, each covering the other's back. But the house was clear. No one was there, but neither could shake the feeling of unease. They exchanged quizzical looks as Reese began to consider all the blood was just freaking them both out.

Crews pulled his phone from his pocket and called dispatch. "I need a canine unit" Crews pronounced. Reese arched her eyebrows in question. "There's something here" he said like she didn't believe him.

"Crews, maybe it's all the blood. Maybe you should take a break" she told him.

"Reese…" he said very seriously "there's someone here".

"Where?" she questioned "we've looked everywhere, closets, bathrooms, the shower, the pantry…there's no one here" she patiently told him.

"Reese" Crews locked eyes with her "do you trust me?" he asked.

She glared at him "you know I do" she said annoyed.

"Then trust me…there is someone here" he was certain, his tone was low and dangerous. He could feel the presence…. like when they would wait for him in prison, wait for him so they could do things to him….things that remembering made Charlie shudder. "There's some one here" he said again quietly almost to himself.

Reese focused on the body, while Crews stood guard against the phantom presence. She observed the fragments of his skull cap in the congealing blood because his skull ceased to be a solid object at some point and fractured into tiny pieces. "This took an enormous amount of force" she said.

"Or hate" Crews added, prompting her to look at him again. He levelly returned her gaze, letting what he'd said sinking in.

"That's a lot of hate." Reese said. "That's a lot of blood" she repeated his earlier comment.

Then a small noise came from the area of the bedroom and both their heads snapped in the direction of the sound. It was not a building groan or creak, not an animal noise, not a bird or a ceiling fan or A/C unit cycling. It was a distinctly human sound like a choked cry or a sob.

"There's someone here" Crews whispered harshly again.

They both carefully, but stealthily crept into the room. This time listening rather than looking, they took great care to be silent. Crews cocked his head and listened, like a dog hearing a strange noise and looked down at the bed. "It's there" he whispered. Reese looked at him strangely. "It's under the bed." He whispered.

"That's impossible, Crews." She pronounced incredulously. "It has to be a dog, a cat, it's too small to be a person" she said so sure of herself that she holstered her pistol and climbed down onto the floor with her flashlight to find the hidden animal and calm Crews down. They needed to get back to work on the case and stop chasing shadows.

Still focused on Crews, Reese flicked her glance from her examination to his face, which was still troubled. "There's no room under here for a…" and then she saw something that stopped her heart. "Oh, my God…" she swore softly.

"What is it?" Crews peered over her shoulder, his weapon now nowhere to be seen either. He clambered down beside her. There under the bed was a small child of maybe five or six, covered in blood. "The void" they breathed together.

"That's why it was so small" Crews stated. "It's a kid."

Dani couldn't speak because the child held her eyes. Bright blue green eyes rimmed with red from silent tears locked onto hers. Crews spoke in the background, asking her questions and talking excitedly on the phone, but Dani couldn't move. Even when he knelt beside her and touched her shoulder again, she didn't react. She found she couldn't sever the connection to the child and those sea green eyes.


	5. Chapter 5 Teeth and Claws

Teeth and Claws:

Dani was so focused on the green eyed child covered in blood that she ceased to hear anyone or anything else. She couldn't explain why the child's stare so transfixed her, but the red rimmed eyes seemed to beg her for help, it was a silent plea but one she found she could not ignore_. Crews was usually better with kids_ she thought, _what had he told her…kids thought she was uptight?_

Crews called off the canine unit, got down on his chest and scooted closer to the bed. Impossibly, he seemed almost able to reach far enough under the bed to grab the child, when a flash of tiny white teeth produced a yelp from him and he scrambled back holding his hand. "She bit me" he said surprised.

Dani disconnected long enough to see him inspecting the first knuckle on his right forefinger where a tiny row of blood droplets were rising from skin punctured by the child's small, but very sharp, baby teeth. She smirked in spite of herself, it seemed someone else did not like to be touched. She returned her gaze to the child, still smiling and found the little boy or girl, she really couldn't tell which, had never stopped staring at her.

Dani reached under the bed, not heeding Charlie's warning, and about half a foot from the child - stilled her hand and rotated it up so her palm was up, exposed. It held nothing, no candy, no toy, just an entreaty, _let me help_ it said. The child's eyes flickered between her hand and her eyes and relaxed a tiny bit at the upturned palm. Seconds ticked by and then minutes, but slowly a tiny hand reached out and gingerly took Dani's fingertips and held them tightly.

Crews watched as his partner very slowly drew the child closer, her eyes never leaving the child's and suddenly felt like an intruder in a moment he was not in. They were there together, but no one else was in that moment with them. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Charlie was not sure he would have believed Dani could be that still, that calm, that focused. It was something new for him and it delighted him to see Dani in the moment. He wasn't even the least bit jealous, _well, maybe a little_ he thought. When they were face to face, Dani backed up, sat back on her heels and the child simply propelled herself from under the bed and into Dani's arms.

_It's little girl_, Crews thought, _like Rachel Seybolt_, _a terrified, almost catatonic little girl._

_Rachel Seybolt who never spoke and drew dark pictures full of anger and blood._ _Rachel Seybolt who had been witness to the slaughter of her mother, father and brother in that house fourteen years ago._ She too, this nameless little girl was covered in blood was scared witless. _God, we've been here before_ Crews thought beginning to spin a bit, thinking of the parallels, the connections.

Finally, Dani returned to him and with her return – Crews returned him to himself. He never realized how much she grounded him in reality. Speaking ever so softly Dani instructed him "Crews, run a bath". Crews realized right now Dani was not a cop, she was a woman, a woman worried about a child. She was not worried about forensics, only the need to return the little girl to some semblance of a child, instead of the nightmare she now resembled. _Right now she looked like road kill_ – or that's what Bobby would have said if he were here, Crews thought darkly.

He entered the bathroom and checked it first for signs the killer used it to clean up, but found none. He plugged the drain and ran a warm bath filling the tub as Dani carried the girl in and set her down on the toilet seat. She stripped the child's bloody clothes from her, but the little girl would not let go of Dani. Without a moment's hesitation, Dani took off her pistol and pulled her cell from her pocket, placing it on the counter and climbed fully dressed with the girl into the bathtub.

Charlie was now speechless. He watched as Dani spoke softly in hushed tones that only the little girl could hear. With tears in her own eyes, Dani gently ran her fingers through the girl's hair, which as it turned out was reddish blonde, removing the congealing blood. Dani simply held her, rocking in the warm water, placing soft kisses on the girl's forehead, and smoothing her hair with handfuls of water. The bath water turned pink and the child began to cry out loud.

Until that moment, Charlie realized, she had not made a sound other than the scuff that alerted them to her presence. _Her ability to remain still and silent may have saved her life, _he thought. Even standing there watching someone bludgeoned to death, the killer may have been so enraged that if she didn't move or speak, he simply didn't see her.

Still, he thought _to stand there and watch someone_, _her father perhaps_ being beaten to death, _what must that do to a child? What had it done to Rachel_?

For a moment Charlie flashed back to that day in the foyer of his home, the night he'd accidentally shot his father and the exchange between Dani and Rachel, almost like they recognized one another. There was a moment…something and then it was gone. He'd wanted to ask them about it, but never did. Maybe Jack Reese had taken Rachel home when he rescued her – maybe Dani knew Rachel as a child, so many angles, so many possibilities and everything was still connected. He wondered how this little girl might be connected to what happened then – maybe he and Dani were the only connection between that event and this one, but it remained…connected. Perhaps their tortured, tangled past was what allowed the girl to see them and trust them. Maybe she could sense it.

His eyes and thoughts returned to the present as Dani spoke to him in a sharp whisper "Crews – you here?" Suddenly he was. He took a large bath towel to the edge of the tub. He didn't think that based on her earlier reaction the little girl would allow him to touch her. But he held the towel out to wrap her in it cautiously. The girl considered him seriously for a moment, biting her lip and her sea green eyes searched his. Charlie did not try any of his other tools with children, no banter, no joking - instead he approached her as he had Dani Reese, by letting go all his barriers and allowing her to see him, to look into his soul. His eyes smiled when she stood up and leaned into the towel letting him lift her from the tub and into his embrace.

Dani arched her eyebrows, surprised and stood dripping wet in her street clothes.

She reached for a nearby towel herself and pulled the plug on the tub, allowing the filth to escape down the drain. The bathroom floor was now covered in water and footing was precarious, as she clung to Crews for stability, she said "let's find her some clothes".

"Um… Reese, I don't think she lives here." He said gently, still holding the girl wrapped in the large towel. "I didn't see any kid's things in the house earlier, no toys, no clothes, no Barbies, no pictures on the wall, no drawings on the fridge, nothing that says a little girl lives here". Dani took the girl from him and stood her on the toilet seat, continuing to dry her hair with the towel. She wanted to tell him that not all little girls liked Barbies, but somehow that seemed silly and she refused to say it out loud.

"Well… find her something to wear." She demanded quietly.

Charlie was out of his element. He was okay with kids, better than Reese….well, usually better than Reese…but that was just talking to them…not dressing them. He fumbled around the closet settling for a t-shirt that looked like it would fit Tidwell. _Better than nothing _he thought. Then he thought about Reese and her clothes being wet too. He found a pair of sweat pants that would be far too long for her and white "wife beater" men's shirt, which resembled the white tank top he loved so much, but abandoned it in favor of something that would cover more of her - from the eyes outside.

"Here" he said "best I could do" as he handed her a grey Anaheim Ducks t-shirt for the girl. Reese was now combing the girl's hair and again he thought _what a good mom she's going to make_, but this time kept the comment to himself. The little girl, who as far as he could tell, still hadn't spoken a word, just held her hands up to let him pull the shirt over her head. As her head emerged from the way too large neck hole, Charlie kissed her nose and she wrapped her arms around his neck clinging to him. Surprised he held onto the girl, while Reese took the opportunity to shed her wet clothes.

Children were so incredibly resilient they survived countless horrors and still retained calmness, peace and goodwill that escaped most grown adults. _Wonder what that says about people,_ he thought idly, while rocking the girl gently back and forth, twisting his upper body and watching Reese undress, when she reminded him they were at work. "Uh…maybe you could wait outside" she said shyly. Crews had to be reminded that "they" were supposed to be a secret, but he really enjoyed watching Reese undress. So much so that she had to remind him again "Crews…" she said his name in a long, low, warning with an accompanying scowl. _Yep, definitely a mom look_ he gulped…._and a good one_.

He stepped out of the bathroom and back into the crime scene. The smell of the fresh blood assaulted his senses. After the clarity of the water and the softness of the bath towels, it made him reel. The girl too noticed it, tensed and began tightening her grip on his neck, burying her head there as if she could crawl far enough under his chin to escape it. "Sshhh" he tried quietly, but for a little kid she was remarkably strong and about to strangle him, when Dani Reese emerged from the bathroom and rescued them both.

"Let's go" she said, dragging her partner along towards the door, sunlight, fresh air and safety. "Secure the scene" she instructed the uniforms "we'll be back, we're taking this witness to the station".

"Do you want me to call child services" the sergeant standing nearby offered. Dani shot him and withering look that could have burned him down where he stood. "No…um…okay" he said backing away.

Normally, a witness rides in the back and as they examined the car, they both independently arrived at the conclusion, this was far from normal. Dani fished the car keys from the pocket of her wet jeans and tossed them to Crews "Give me the kid. You drive. Pop the trunk for these wet things." Clean, directive and down right weird.

_He never drove, she always drove_ he thought. It was like that time with the fumes from that bottle he broke, Charlie was fairly certain he was hallucinating. "Crews…the trunk?" she said impatiently. He snapped out of it and punched the actuator to open the trunk.

Dani unceremoniously dumped her wet clothes in the back and then fished out her gun and cell phone, which she placed on the front passenger seat, before walking to Crews and demanding "give her to me".

Charlie transferred to girl to Reese's waiting arms, but she clung to his neck and resisted. "Honey, it's okay" Reese spoke to the girl who's face emerged from Crews neck and her eyes locked with Dani's. Instantly, she released him and reached for Dani. Charlie missed the warmth of the little girl's body at once, but opened the back door for Reese who climbed inside.

Caught in the moment of parental responsibility, Charlie leaned into the car and kissed the girl on the head and then Dani on the mouth. When he realized what he was doing and where they were, who they were in front of, he froze. She's going to slap me, he said, drawing back slightly, but to his great surprise, she grabbed his tie and pulled him close to drink in his lips. It was so fleeting, a mere second, but long enough for him to know she did it and he smiled at her as he stood.

He walked around the car, ignoring the stares of the uniformed cops who watched the exchange. Part of him wanted to grin at them and say it out loud "Yes, that's mine." But he knew that would have him sleeping on the couch for a week, inside - his heart swelled. He wondered if Dani struggled like he did. The impulse to touch her, to look at her was so very strong, it was tough to keep his feelings off the job and separate from work. Charlie knew he loved her so much it hurt some times and he was happy to know she too had problems containing her desire and need for him.

He started the car, pulled out and adjusted the mirror so he could look at Dani. "Where to?" he asked, knowing it would not be the station. The station meant Tidwell, which meant Child Services and Dani would not let child services take this child. An image of a mother bear, all teeth and claws, sprang unbidden to his mind. He grinned at the image.

"What?" she wanted to know - her eyebrows were knitted tightly together.

Charlie was at a critical juncture. He swore that he was going to stop lying to her, but he knew this would only anger and embarrass…perhaps even frighten her. Reese continued staring at him in the mirror waiting for his response. She worked her eyebrows at him – a very non-verbal Reese like thing that meant she expected a response and soon.

_Here goes_…he thought…deciding that it was worth risking her anger rather than losing her trust because she would know instantly if he lied to her. He was an open book to her at this point.

"I was thinking….thinking that you're going to make a great mom." He said sheepishly and to his great surprise, she didn't react negatively…to him or the idea… she simply said "oh" and then averted her eyes. By now, the little girl was asleep in her arms, so worn out from the trauma that she finally succumbed to exhaustion. Reese brushed her now drying silken hair from the little girl's face and smiled.

"So….where to?" He asked again softly, capturing her eyes in the rearview.

"Home" she pronounced. "Take us home".

Charlie didn't need to ask where that meant. Home was his house - their house - as he'd come to think of it, ever since she'd started sleeping there - with him. It was their home now and it pleased him greatly that she thought of it that way too. _I am so attached to this woman_, he repeated in his mind.

Charlie didn't think about what would happen when they didn't show up at the station, he didn't think about what Tidwell would say when he found out, he didn't even think about who killed that man in the loft, he could only think about this moment and where they were going next – home.


	6. Chapter 6 Shopping and Bondage

Shopping, Barbie in Bondage & Fruit

Charlie had once again been sent on a mission outside his comfort zone and perhaps his ability level. He was a skilled marksman, an attentive cop, a dutiful partner, and training to be a Zen master - but shopping for clothing for a five year old girl, flummoxed him. He stood in the midst of several aisles of what appeared to be dolls clothes and stared. _How will I know what fits? What color? Dresses? Shorts? Pants? _

Just when Charlie thought his Zen had failed him and his head might explode, a sales lady sensed his distress and came to his rescue.

"Sir…you look a bit lost…did you lose your wife?" She asked meekly.

"Oh, I don't have a wife." He smiled in greeting.

"But you have children?" the woman inquired.

"No. But I need to buy some children's... little girl's clothes" Charlie stated. _Great now she probably thinks I'm a pervert, _Charlie thought having the urge (for the second time that day) to slap himself in the forehead. "My partner and I have this little girl and she needs some clothes."

"Oh…" the woman blushed. "May I ask - are your partner and your little girl here?"

"Nope, they're at home" Charlie said.

"Well, how old is your daughter?" the woman tried helpfully.

Charlie stood staring, realizing he really had no idea. His head cocked to the side, he narrowed his eyes and began guessing "4, 5-ish, maybe 6, could be 7?"

The woman tried to get a little more information. "Perhaps you could call your partner and ask him how old the child is".

"Him?" Charlie looked at her strangely.

"I'm sorry, you said….partner….aren't you gay?" she asked.

"No" Charlie stood all of his six foot one inches tall and proclaimed in a slightly deeper voice "I most certainly am not." _Maybe I should call Reese_ he thought. He pulled out his phone and hit speed dial.

"What is it Crews?" Dani whispered into the phone trying not to wake the girl who was curled under a duvet in the middle of Charlie's enormous bed.

"How old is…." Charlie paused knowing the saleswoman was now convinced he was a pedophile "…that little girl?" Trying to speak softly enough that the sales lady wouldn't think they'd abducted someone's kid.

"How am I supposed to know that Crews?" Reese said sharply "She isn't exactly Chatty Kathy, ya know?"

"Reese..." Charlie implored "help me out here, I have no idea what to buy or what sizes…There's so much stuff here…too much stuff really….it's cluttered and I like to lead an uncluttered life, Reese" he rambled, hearing himself beginning to whine, Charlie stopped abruptly.

Sighing, she calmed down realizing Charlie rambled when he was nervous. "Charlie…" she said softly capturing his attention. She could hear him listening to her through the phone and imagine the look on his face as he stood there in the midst of all that "stuff". "Find a salesperson. Tell them you need a couple pairs of pants or shorts, a couple t-shirts and some underwear for a little girl about 5 years old… who is….say 34-36" tall and weighs about 40 pounds, ok?"

She heard the breath ease out of his body as she delivered the answer to his dilemma and then the phone snap shut as he terminated the call. _Funny how our conversations never seem to end - no one says goodbye - we just stop talking._ When they were first partnered together, Dani used to hang up on Charlie - a lot - and then it became something of a thing with them that she rarely noticed but other people remarked about. It didn't strike her as particularly rude, the two of them just seemed to know when a conversation was over and didn't waste time saying good bye to someone they were going to see again, and again, and again.

Just then her phone rang again and she answered it without looking "What is it now Crews?" The phone was silent for a second, just long enough for to Dani to realize it was not Charlie Crews on the other end.

"Detective Reese" Tidwell began "you wanna tell me why the uniforms say my detectives cleared the scene over 90 minutes ago enroute to the station with a witness, yet here I stand in the station and I see – no detectives – no witness – huh?"

"Captain, I can explain" Reese began formally knowing this was going to be an argument.

"Dani where the hell are you?" Tidwell said much more softly. Softer than he intended, but he still loved her, even if she didn't love him back. "Where's Crews and why isn't he with you?"

"It's complicated….there was a kid in the scene. She was hiding under the bed and covered in blood, I know I shouldn't have taken off like that but the scene is secured and the dead guy isn't going anywhere. I just couldn't....she didn't need to be there...I had to get her out of that place" Reese could hear herself rambling but couldn't stop, she'd held back tears most of the day, but they were threatening to break through now and the strain in her voice was palpable.

"Why didn't you come here?" Tidwell asked. "You can come here, Dani. I won't call Child Services if that's what you think?"

"Really?" she said.

"Are you kidding? After the dog house I found myself in after that last thing, I learned my lesson…no way, the kid can stay at my house if you want, just come back to the station will ya?" Tidwell beckoned.

There were times when Dani really missed him. He was sweet and so nice to her, nicer than she thought she deserved. He truly cared about her and it was going to be so hard trying to explain to him that her heart belonged to Charlie Crews. _He really deserves better _she thought. She didn't want to inspire false hope in him, but also didn't want to lose him.

This was tougher than she'd ever imagined. Almost all her life she'd had no one. Then she had someone but it was over so fast, she almost thought she'd dreamed it. Now she had two men both of who loved her and in truth - both of whom she loved - in very different ways. It was too much some days.

"Crews will be back soon and I promise we'll bring her in then" she acquiesced.

"Ok, Detective you do that…." He said icily, which always happened when Crews crept into their conversations.

Dani sighed knowing this was not going to work itself out and she'd have to make a hard choice. She thought that simply refusing to sleep over would send Tidwell a message, but he was not giving up and was going to make her break it off, break his heart and that - Dani did not have the strength for right now. So they all stayed in limbo, like planets locked in gravitational orbit circling the same sun.

The two men were as different as the sun and the moon, Crews and Tidwell. Charlie Crews was pure sunshine, fiery orange hair, flecked with gold and blue eyes like the ocean. He was long and lean; his personality sparkled like the sun over the Pacific. Kevin Tidwell was like the cooler moon, with warm eyes and dressed down style, but still shiny and luminous in spots, shining his own, softer, less harsh light.

Crews was always there in the moment, alive, spirited even in dark moments he possessed a captured energy that electrified her. Kevin was smooth and subtle, painted her world in softer colors, but still beautiful ones. They were both far better than she felt she deserved and to have them both…well, it was ….draining right now.

Thankfully she heard the front door open and Charlie's whistling echoed through the house. She descended the stairs, unable to find the spirit to shush him. Stifling Crews was like trying to throw a blanket over the sun, ineffectual and a waste of time. He simply was - and that said everything to her. She smiled down at him and said coyly "what did you bring me?"

Charlie gulped at the sultry tone in her voice, looked into the bags he held and realized nothing in there was for her. Just then Reese smiled and he realized he was off the hook. The look of relief on his face must have been priceless because it caused her to truly smile at him for the first time all day. "Shopping is hell" he pronounced dropping the bags on the floor "I know they said "war was hell, but I think whoever said that has never been to a mall" he continued walking until he met her on the stairs.

"Crews?" she said quietly grabbing his attention and stopping his rant. "Shut up".

And he did because Dani Reese grabbed his lapels of his suit jacket and kissed him breathless. Her relative height deficit was allayed by the steps and this was a whole new position for them. She didn't tower over him, but rather was at his level and it was interesting to explore all the new places he could reach from this position -- down her back, his hands splayed over the tight jeans she'd changed into when they got home. He reached further down her leg and stroked the length of her thigh before stopping on her ass. He moaned into her mouth and they broke apart before they lost control, knowing there was still a very scared child upstairs.

Breathing heavily he held her against him, forehead to forehead and told her "gotta remember the stair thing…that's nice" before kissing her gently and taking her by the hand down to the bags of clothes he'd bought.

Dani took the bags to the kitchen and removed their contents on the marble island that served as the room's focal point; the self same one where Ted and Charlie did most of their research when tracking Kyle Hollis, which now seemed decades ago. She took the clothes out appraising his shopping performance and Charlie felt like he was being graded. There were two pairs of little leggings; one green, one orange; a small denim skirt, four shirts in various colors, some underwear, socks and a pair of green kids Crocs. In the last bag Dani opened she found a little cotton sun dress with daisies on it. She raised an eyebrow at him, earning her a sheepish admission "I liked the dress".

"Plus I got this" he said pulling a pink Barbie box from the floor.

"Crews….not all little girls like Barbies" she finally got to say out loud, sighing.

This had not occurred to Charlie and he considered it fiercely in that very Charlie like way where his eyes seemed switched off, looking but not seeing, turning over something in his head – something you couldn't see.

"Crews" she said "I'm sure she'll love it" causing him to smile again. "Now you just have to free her from bondage" she pronounced.

"What?" Crews said dumbfounded.

"It's the weirdest thing. Every Christmas when my dad would buy me a new Barbie it took almost a half an hour to cut the doll of the box. She is tied in there in like a sadist dream captured in cardboard. It's just not right." And then she turned to go up stairs and dress the child, leaving Charlie to free Barbie from her cardboard prison.

Crews was now curious and a curious Charlie Crews was a dangerous thing. He opened the box and slid the doll out. _Sure enough Reese was right…she usually was_, he thought. The little blonde doll was strapped to the box at her wrists, ankles, torso and even her hair was stitched down. _What a disappointment to a kid. Give them a toy they couldn't play with – only look at – this simply wouldn't do._

Charlie flicked open his knife and began to cut, twist and remove all the bindings and ties. Finally, after a devoted ten minutes the doll was free and Charlie looked at the remains of the box and considered the exercise and what a metaphor it was for life. _We all live in boxes, tied down and unable to move_ he thought.

About that time, Dani came down the stairs leading the little girl who was now clean, dry and wearing the little sundress with daisies on it and green Crocs with no socks. She looked beautiful and Charlie was transported to the future, not that he believed in the future, but there he was in it. Dani and him with their little girls, in their house and she was happy, they were happy, it was like a dream - only it seemed tantalizingly real.

"Crews?" Dani said unsteadily. _He was looking at her like she was… what? _

Then the little girl saw the doll and drew them both towards him. He knelt before them and held the stupid half naked doll up. _Why don't they dress those things?_ Reese thought. Even Ken was sold in just his skivvies. It was downright weird Reese thought. But the child wanted the doll badly, she was still shyly clinging to Dani, but she wanted the doll. She wanted to be close to Charlie, but she was afraid. _Just like me_ Dani thought.

Charlie held out the doll until the girl could reach it and then softly made a deal. "This doll is for you if - you can tell me your name" he asked the question with his eyes and the tilt of his head. The girl regarded him coolly and then decided there was not a downside to this deal and pronounced "Sarah".

Crews smiled his brightest smile and released the doll, saying "Hello Sarah. I'm Charlie."

Her eyes focused on the doll and her other hand still in Dani's, Sarah repeated quietly "You're Charlie". This was progress, she spoke. _It took Rachel years to speak_ he thought.

Dani inclined her head and eyes expressing her obvious surprise and admiration.

Crews decided to press his advantage and while she was distracted, putting his hands around her waist and lifted her into the air. "Sarah, do you like pineapple?" he said swinging her back and forth in the air, making her giggle and Dani smile simultaneously. _I can't lose here,_ Charlie thought.

He set Sarah on the counter reached into the fruit basket and pulled out a pineapple. "That's not pineapple" Sarah pronounced, causing both Charlie and Dani to look at her quizzically. "Pineapple comes in a blue can" she said with absolute confidence in her rightness; the kind that only comes from a child.

Joy is a strange emotion, one impossible to plan for - or project, but when it springs to life it is like a "jack in the box", scary and fun all at the same time. Suddenly, it is there, unplanned, boundless, but very fragile. The joy in that moment cut away cleanly the unimportant and inconsequential and left them nothing but hope and promise. Charlie and Dani locked eyes and smiled – both seeing into their shared future.


	7. Chapter 7 Back Blast

Back Blast

The ride to the station was uneventful. The elevator could barely contain the buoyancy that the three of them felt from surviving the morning, but nothing could prepare Dani for what would happen next. The moment the elevator doors opened Dani tensed and Charlie felt it, following her eyes to Tidwell's office. There stood a very pissed off Jack Reese, pissed off - but definitely alive.

Although they had not the time to look for him, Charlie was very aware that Roman told Dani her father was dead. Somehow, he wasn't entirely sure Reese was happy to see her father and Charlie knew that Jack Reese would definitely not be happy to see him. And if Jack Reese knew what Charlie did to his daughter after hours or what she did with him, well....that was just not a conversation that would endear him to the aged SWAT officer father of his partner.

About that time, Bobby Stark with his usual gift of restating the obvious wandered by "Hey Charlie. Who have we here?" noticing Sarah who was still being held by Dani.

Dani stopped walking and was just staring at her father who was gesticulating angrily at Tidwell. Every once in awhile Jack's angry voice carried beyond the glass, usually when the name "Crews" was pointedly pronounced, accompanied by a finger jab in Tidwell's direction.

"Isn't that your father Detective Reese?" Bobby continued.

This earned him a scowl from Reese and Charlie both. "Okay, well I can see you two are busy." Bobby said retreating down the hall toward the vending machines. "Juarez and I gotta hit the street" he pronounced to no one in particular.

The movement drew Tidwell's attention and saved him from further verbal abuse as he pointed through the glass at Crews and Reese. Jack turned to look and his eyes narrowed and darkened. Charlie stepped in front of Dani as if to shield her from he father's dark stare, his arm simultaneously sweeping Dani and Sarah behind him. This simply enraged Jack, who snatched open Tidwell's office door and stalked across the bullpen in large strides.

All police work had stopped as the eyes of the other detectives, witnesses and even the janitor were now focused on the dark looks being cast between Crews and Jack Reese.

Only Sarah seemed immune, "who's that man?" she asked in her innocent five year old way, snapping the mood and spurring everyone to action.

"That - is my father Sarah." Dani pronounced stepping around Crews and looking directly at her father. "… who is supposed to be dead" she said pointedly.

Jack looked at his daughter, holding a small child and the towering, protective figure of Charlie Crews his eyes dark like storm clouds and developed the impression things had changed while he was away – and changed in a way he did not like. He spoke in a low, menacing growl meant just for Crews "I told you to keep my daughter out of this". Charlie did not respond, he only glowered at Jack and stood his ground.

They were a fair match; Jack more stolidly built and compact, but Crews more nimble with a longer reach. Reese thought and in terms of tenacity she'd give Crews the edge, but in terms of stubbornness she knew her father outlasted most. As enticing as the idea of letting the two of them go at it, she knew she had to stop this and that she was the only who could.

"Crews" Dani barked. Charlie tore his eyes away from Jack Reese to look at his partner. "Take Sarah" she told him. Charlie looked at her and an unspoken conversation occurred between them. _Are you okay? Yes, I'm fine. Are you sure? I got this. _Crews relaxed slightly and opened his arms to Sarah.

"Come on honey, let's let Dani talk to her Dad. I've got someone I want you to meet. Would you like to make a new friend?" his tone relaxed and friendly, but eyes still worried.

When Crews returned his eyes to Jack, they glittered in warning, _still wanna dance old man - just say when._

Jack Reese observed the interaction between his daughter and her partner, noticing the almost imperceptible differences. They stood closer together, their bodies in contact more frequently, a shoulder, an arm, a hip together touching but not seeming to reach out, more naturally connected. Less communication was spoken and more said with nuanced eye contact and facial expressions. Charlie Crews was a dangerous man and he did not want his only daughter partnered with him in the first place. They were even closer than when he'd left and this disturbed him more than he wanted to admit.

"I need to talk to you, alone" Jack said in a hoarse whisper to Dani. He inclined his head to the interview room where they could talk privately. It wasn't a request it was a directive and Dani obeyed, casting a backwards glances at Tidwell and Crews who for once in the last week were too preoccupied - to be at each other's throat. _Geez, she thought the testosterone was so thick in here you could cut it with a knife. One more alpha male and the building might collapse._

Tidwell stood in the bullpen pronouncing "nothing to see here people, go back to work" right on cue as if to announce he was in charge.

"Detective" to Crews "a word?" he beckoned.

Charlie watched Dani all the way into the interview suite and after the door closed a moment longer before returning his eyes and attention to his Captain. He walked into Tidwell's office still carrying Sarah in her white dress with daisies on it and her little green Crocs. She was largely silent sensing the atmosphere and without Dani present she seemed to feel smaller and more alone.

"This is your witness?" Tidwell asked, all business. Charlie simply nodded.

"But she's….what four? Five? She's just a kid…" Tidwell whined, Charlie shrugged - both men trying to ignore what they really were interested in.

A loud noise and raised voices from the interview room distracted both of them. Crews set Sarah on Tidwell's couch and told her calmly "stay here I'll be right back", striding out of the office toward the interview room, a hard look on his face and his jaw set.

Sarah looked ready to cry and began to sniff like she would cry, prompting Tidwell to plead with her "please don't cry, little girl - he'll be right back".

Sarah pronounced "I want Dani" and under his breath Tidwell offered "don't we all?"

When Charlie Crews entered the interview room, Jack Reese had his daughter gripped firmly by the shoulders and was shouting at her "what did I tell you about that man?"

There were tears in Dani's eyes, although Charlie couldn't be sure he was physically hurting her, it didn't matter, he'd made her cry and for that he would pay.

Charlie was absolutely enraged. "Take your hands off her" Charlie said in an impossibly low fierce and threatening tone adding "now" for emphasis. This was not the smiling, but serious Detective Crews; not the flippant, but fierce Charlie; this was the dark, dangerous man who was prepared to defend his partner to the death. This was the man who survived twelve years in prison and who crushed Roman Nevikov's windpipe with his bare hands.

As his hands dropped to his sides, for the first time in her life, Dani saw fear in her father's eyes, fear of Charlie Crews.

Charlie walked between father and daughter forcing Jack to step back, but permitting him to see the change in Crews up close, right before his eyes. Softly, but with a voice still thick with emotion, he inquired "are you okay?" while dipping his head to seek and hold Dani's eyes. She nodded and Crews gently brushed her hair back from her face like he was touching a spider web, his touch was so light. He thumbed an escaped tear from her cheekbone and gently whispered "its okay, you're safe, Dani".

Jack Reese watched as his tough, little, tomboy daughter who never accepted help from anyone, accept this from her partner, and after a moment, she leaned into Crews while his arms wrapped around her tightly. Crews dropped his head to kiss her hairline and Jack could hear the breath his daughter had been holding – released as she relaxed in his arms.

Over her head, Crews spoke softly "it's okay, just breathe" and then looked up and directly at Jack Reese. "If you ever so much as think about hurting her again, they won't find the pieces Jack" he warned in a tone so low and dark it chilled the room.

Before his eyes in the span of moments, Jack Reese realized that his worries were for nothing. He acted out of fear, for his family, for his only daughter – a little girl he could never really express affection for, because he was too preoccupied, busy protecting her - from his own poor choices.

Jack Reese realized that Charlie Crews was a hard and capable man. There was perhaps no one on the face of the earth more suited to keeping his daughter safe than Crews. He saw not a battered, broken man, but a warrior. Jack Reese suddenly realized the closer Dani was to Crews - the safer and more protected she would be. He also realized that Crews was capable of giving his daughter something he could not – love - and that his daughter had at last found someone worthy of her trust and her faith.

***************************************************************************************

Kevin Tidwell had three ex-wives and not one kid in the mix. _There was a reason for that, _he thought. Kids made him nervous. They cried unexpectedly, were fragile beyond belief and just kinda freaked him out. He wanted kids some day, but when he imagined them - his kids they were always around ten, could already ride a bike and play baseball.

Sarah standing on his couch bordering on tears was his worst nightmare. He'd rather raid a crack house, alone, at night, with no vest, armed with only a plastic spoon, than this. He needed to do something, but Child Services was out, he'd promised Dani. Then he had a stroke of genius – the departmental shrink. She was a murder witness – it was perfect. He picked up the phone and dialed the switchboard, which was way faster than looking up the number and demanded the shrink. He was informed the department had a psychologist, to which he replied "sure fine, whatever, just connect me".

The line rang through and a rather nasal sounding man named James answered. "Funny cause for some reason I was expecting a woman", Tidwell started the conversation off – badly. "This is Tidwell, Homicide. I got this witness and I need you to talk to her."

"Send her down to the 4th floor, Room 319" James sighed. If he was perturbed by attitudes from cops, he'd have long ago jumped out the window and done a "Peter flipping Pan" as the beat cops called it – all over the pavement. "Captain?" James inquired "4th floor? Room 319?" he wondered if the man heard him.

Tidwell was actually considering if the kid could find the 4th floor, Room 319 by herself, but concluded if he lost her Dani would be beyond furious. "Uh…maybe you should come get her….yeah, you need to…I need you to come to my office and get her, uh, the witness". He decided in mid-speech.

"Very well" – James was now obviously annoyed. "I'm having my lunch now. I can see her at 1:30PM."

"No dude, you'll see her now. Get up here." Tidwell said hanging up the phone as Sarah's bottom lip began to tremble. "Okay….okay…now that was a guy…and he's coming to talk to you…he'll be here in like seconds… so like don't cry okay."

Maybe he should get closer he thought, stepping around his desk, when Sarah screamed. "Ok, ok, not getting closer" he retreated immediately "closer is a bad idea".

The scream brought Dani bolting from the interview room to his rescue, with Crews and Jack Reese trailing behind a distant second and third like some washed up nags blown out by a thoroughbred at the racetrack, Tidwell thought

"Oh, thank god" he spoke as relief rolled off him in waves.

As she cleared the doorway into Sarah's view, the little girl practically launched herself at Dani. It was amazing to watch; one minute there were two people and a millisecond later they were one, indistinguishable from each other, not even daylight got between them. Dani was rocking Sarah and talking under her breath in a way that made Tidwell very jealous of the little girl.

"What did you do?" Dani said to him through clenched teeth.

It was then that Kevin Tidwell realized Reese didn't come to his rescue, she came to Sarah's. "I…nothing…I didn't do….nothing…she just freaked" he babbled as he watched the girl relax in Dani's arms.

"I called the shrink" Dani's dark glare told instantly that was a mistake "thought he could I don't know talk to her, hypnotize her, get something from her about the murder" he trailed off.

As Crews approach them from behind, he stepped deliberately inside Dani's personal space and leaned down to whisper to Sarah and Dani both.

"You two remember this is a murder case right? Not Romper Room" he said in deliberately clipped tone for Crews' benefit. If anyone was going to indulge Dani's whims it was damned well going to be him – not Charlie Crews.

About that time, as a tense silence descended over the group, James emerged from the elevators. "Ah, I see – a child – well, give her to me" he began, the equivalent of throwing a gauntlet. The opening salvo of a protracted battle, despite being trained observer of human behavior, James some how missed the fact that the four adults obviously wanted to kill each other at this point and Sarah was pretty much all that was keeping it from turning truly ugly.

After much discussion and a direct order, a very angry Reese was forced to surrender Sarah, who cried bitterly as James carried her away, after she bit him too. Crews looked down at the band-aid on his knuckle remember how scared Sarah was and what she'd been through. _Who was she?_ He wondered. _And why was she in that house?_

Jack Reese excused himself to visit his home and wife, after saying his good byes to Dani, which curiously enough ended with a hug, surprising Crews immensely. The two men exchanged pointed glances until Dani dragged Charlie back to their conjoined desks

Hours passed as they searched the NCIC for missing children, combed through Amber Alerts and contacted NIMEC for little girls matching Sarah's description. There were hundreds, thousands of missing children in their database, each case a tiny tragedy, but none of them matched a "five year old Caucasian female, 36 inches tall, 40-45 lbs with long strawberry blonde hair and green eyes" as Dani described her for the tenth time on the phone, while Crews listened and thoughtfully chewed a handful of raisins. _Strawberry blonde..._Crews thought wondering if strawberries were in season or if he could talk Reese into some strawberry pie or ice cream.

Raisins were the only fruit like item he could find in the vending machine_. What an awful thing to do to a grape _Charlie thought as he chewed the tangy little morsels. Then he stopped as he hit a stem and spit it into the trash can, earning him a disdainful look from Reese. Then with nothing to do, but watch and worry, they returned to the scene to take another look - but really it was take Dani's mind off Sarah.

****************************************************************************************

"Reese" Charlie began as soon as they settled in the car. "What were you like as a child?" he inquired expectantly

"Smaller" she replied tersely. She was slunk low behind the steering wheel, hiding tears behind polarized sunglasses and griping the wheel like she was choking it.

Crews didn't inquire further. Dani's dark mood wouldn't tolerate banter today. Charlie knew instinctively there was nothing to change her mood.

As they arrived on scene, there was less of a police presence, only a lonely radio car at the end of the block. The coroner had come and gone with the body, so only a strip of yellow tape across the door showed it was a crime scene at all.

From the outside without the lights and sirens, it was just another house. A simple house, where a horrific crime had been perpetrated leaving behind a dead man and a lost little girl.

Reese reached into the backseat for fresh rubber gloves and there on the seat was Sarah's Barbie. She stared at it for a long moment and then got out of the car, slamming her door hard. Charlie watched her concerned, but unable to help. She leaned back against the car, facing away from him as a single choked sob escaped.

Charlie leaned across the roof speaking to her, "Reese, look at me" he demanded gently. When she turned to face him, still hidden by her shades and biting her lip to hold back tears "What can I do? What do you want?" he asked.

"I want her back." She said in a small, quiet, tortured voice. "I want her back".

He didn't have to ask who. She meant Sarah. Reese had been through a lot in the past month, with Roman and Rayborn and her father's reported death. But the thing that caused her to come unhinged was - them taking Sarah away. As Sarah was pulled from Dani's arms, his heart broke a little for both of them, and for himself. Their connection severed.

He noticed the dark look Dani gave Tidwell as they left and thought _this one he's not getting forgiven for_. He watched as her jaw tightened seeing the red rimmed eyes of the little girl with sea green eyes watch Dani until the elevator closed severing their link. He watched as Dani pinched the bridge of her nose trying to stave off the headache that was coming from fighting back tears.

He wondered if all mom's felt this way and considered the private hell of every parent missing a child – the thousand of tortured women in that database who belonged to a missing child. It didn't matter if they were taken by a non-custodial parent or abducted by a stranger, each one left a big gaping hole in someone's life. All of them were missed by someone - except it seemed Sarah. _Why hadn't anyone reported her missing? Where was the woman who should be grieving as Dani was for this little girl?_

"Let's just work the scene." He said, not wanting to promise her something he couldn't deliver, but in his mind he was already thinking about how he would do it. He was thinking "If that is what you want, then that is what you shall have." He was already thinking about where he would go next and how Zen wasn't going to help him, but how some of his contacts from Pelican Bay, just might be able to.


	8. Chapter 8 Fist Fight

Charlie slid into the booth. He was about to go down the rabbit hole. The bar was what people described as a dive - dark, seedy, reeking of cigarette smoke and stale beer. The vinyl seats made him sweat along his thigh through his very expensive suit, reminding him of those long hot summer days sitting in a radio car with Bobby in that lovely navy blue polyester LAPD uniform. This was the kind of place that when you left made you feel like you needed to shower with a Brillo pad to get the scum off. The man he was meeting would feel completely at home here.

Dillon Boone was a Class A pervert, doing time in solitary because even in prison there are rules. One rule is that child molesters are the bottom rung of the ladder in the prison caste system. Even murderers and rapists revile them. Actually, they are below the bottom rung; they are the dirt under the foot of the ladder. They must live out their time in solitary, because "everyone has family" and child molesters prey on children – a sin even amongst the demons that inhabited Pelican Bay.

Charlie met Dillon Boone during one of his many stays in the prison hospital; they were roommates for a time, because if they want to get to you – they can get to you – even in solitary. Boone was amicable and good at basic conversation until Crews learned what he was in for. Child molesters turned his stomach, but Charlie put two and two together and realized that a little girl doesn't end up missing, with no one looking for her - unless she was off the grid. Boone knew how to make children disappear – he'd done it successfully eleven times before he was caught. Boone was part of an elaborate ring of pedophiles that took children and then sold them online at auction to other like-minded aficionados.

As much as the thought revolted him, Crews was beginning to think the amount of fury applied with the baseball bat was related to the reason for the crime - Crews thought that reason was Sarah.

Sarah could be one of those invisible children passed amongst pedophiles, held in captivity for some times years. And she could have been one for further back than Crews would care to guess or Sarah could remember. Something in her affect made him think she was different, than other kids her age – _although come to think of it he had no experience with kids her age – or kids of any age, _but Sarah's peculiar ability to remain still and quiet; coupled with her near prescient ability to communicate through her eyes were both traits Crews believed pointed towards a child not accustomed to contact with other children, but only with adults.

The way she reached out to and connected with Dani and was shy, distrustful and defensive with men, pointed to victimization. Charlie began to realize that Sarah's trust in him, was contingent on Dani's. She trusted only Dani. He suspected Sarah was procured, used and perhaps left behind when she hid from the killer – in his haste not to be caught. Sadly, children were considered expendable to these types of criminals.

He wrestled with telling Reese his suspicions, but concluded she did not need to be burdened with his dark thoughts just yet. _Maybe he was wrong – that did happen –just not very often and almost never about this stuff._ _One in four little girls are molested_ Charlie thought - about how closely and quickly Dani and Sarah bonded and it led him to wonder about what kind of things happened to Dani Reese as a child. _Things he'd rather not think about._

The doorway split open and light poured in from the outdoors as Boone sashayed into the bar. Boone was out of prison because he'd served his time, but he was far from reformed. He only agreed to meet with Crews, because he feared him and Charlie intended to use this as far as he had to.

"Detective Crews…. Detective Charlie Crews… LA PD" Boone drew out the title like he was announcing a title match in a prizefight. "So what brings you from your expensive house in the hills, down here to see lil ole Dillon?"

"Sit down, Boone" Crews said sternly.

"What no love for your old roomie from Crescent City?" Boone chided.

"I need information, Boone." Crews pronounced and offered the other side of the booth to him. "It's worth something to me."

Boone slid into the booth, the vinyl squeaking and cracking with his movement and listened as Crews asked difficult, uncomfortable questions about how he and his friends did "business". Boone enjoyed sharing his predilection for children with like minded souls, but he knew Charlie Crews was not one. He listened, danced around the truth and then finally Boone asked what the Detective really wanted.

"I want to know if one of these children is found…how could we find out who they are? Where they came from? Who they belong to?" Charlie explained.

Boone was silent for a long time, pursed his lips and then said somewhat proudly "You can't. Most don't even remember their families. They've been under so long, they no longer remember anything about before. Some can't even remember who they belonged to last. I was always nice to my kids, but some guys….." he trailed off recalling a dark fantasy that made Charlie nauseas.

"Focus, Boone." Charlie said tersely through clenched teeth. "What happens when they grow up?" Crews grimacing with discomfort.

"They don't." Boone said letting the comment hang between them with it's implication heavy and dark in the dim light of the bar. "When they get too old…well, they just aren't worth keeping and if you can't find some other collector who wants them…well…." Boone wasn't going to admit to a cop they killed them, but he all but said so.

"Look, if you've rescued one of these kids, unless they have DNA on file somewhere - that you are lucky enough to stumble upon… these kids….they are ghosts… They are no one." Boone smiled darkly. "But if you are telling me you found one of them, I could help you out…" he offered.

Charlie's head twisted suddenly and violently to the side and he lashed out a vicious right across the table. Boone's nose spouted blood and he lolled sideways in the booth. "No one is no one." Charlie said remembering what Reese said about the Lena when Roman threw her out the window. Thinking about Dani made Crews want to see her and he walked out of the bar into the sun setting in the LA sky and drove to find his partner.

**********************************************************************************************************************************

Dani Reese was beyond anxious; she was raging like a hurricane. She stormed around her house, randomly cleaning and rearranging things to stay busy, before she gave up and began breaking stuff. She was suddenly, irrationally and uncontrollably angry; somehow throwing plates just made sense at this point. When she ran out of those she hurled glasses against the wall and at the large sliding glass door until she ran out of those. Spent she collapsed on the floor and let go the tears she'd been holding back all day, maybe all week, perhaps for years.

Charlie arrived as the last of the glass was being broken and thinking she was under some sort of attack, kicked in her front door, gun drawn ready for anything, but what he found.

He found Dani Reese wracked by tears, crying so hard she was barely able to breath. Her breaths came in gulps as she sat awkwardly on a floor littered with shards of glass.

It took him a moment to understand she'd done this on her own. The rage she felt went far beyond Sarah, but it was not something she would share, not yet, he knew this was deep into Dani's psyche. The thing that drove her self-destructive bent was buried in her past, a past they did not share and could not change.

But they could more forward - they could make a better life – for themselves and maybe for Sarah too.

Charlie holstered his pistol and gingerly stepped through the glass crunching under his feet. He lifted Dani by her elbows, she was so light and pliable, once vertical he swept an arm under her knees and lifted her off the ground. He carried her from the remains of her apartment and took her home. Dani did not speak the entire trip and he thought she was asleep until he risked a glance and saw the same thousand yard stare he'd seen before – shock. She was in shock.

Charlie carried her from the car to his house and up the circling staircase to his bedroom. Sweeping back the duvet he placed Dani gently into the center of his bed, stripped off his jacket, socks and shoes and climbed in beside her, gathering her close and soothing her to sleep. Her breathing evened out and she drifted off, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Charlie inclined his head to look at his small, dark haired partner. She was so fierce and tough on the outside and so very fragile underneath, like spun sugar wrapped in concrete. He was certain that he loved her, but not certain that he understood her – then his own words from their first days together echoed in his mind "you don't have to understand here to be here", making him smile and he kissed her softly. She mumbled his name and snuggled tightly against his side.

Charlie considered his own demons, the ones he wrestled with on a daily basis. His heartbeat quickened in confined spaces, sometimes in a stairwell or even in the interview room, which was why he stood near the window, while Dani stayed centered behind the desk face to face with the suspect. He had to remind himself – this was not prison, this was just an ordinary room or space. He tried not to let it limit him, but he detested locks and fences and gates. He needed space and wide open areas like his massive home.

Were he and Dani ready for this? Right now they were both doing their level best to stay upright and on course in their own lives. Their relationship was new and still growing, but they both brought so many fears and foils with them. What he was considering would change everything for all of them…. Could they really do this?

Didn't Sarah need someone patient and kind and open to heal properly? Neither Dani Reese nor Charlie Crews could be described as particularly open, definitely not patient in the least and only some times, with great effort, kind.

He looked down at the sleeping form of his partner and brushed hair from her face and examined her closely. She was so perfect and yet so flawed – but those flaws gave her uniqueness and depth. Only the tortured can truly appreciate another's pain he thought. He looked at his own scarred arms and pale skin in contrast to Dani's olive complexion. He was beaten and broken in places, those breaks healed but left scars on his body and in his heart. They were far from perfect parents, but that is what he was contemplating…wasn't it?

Could they have that future he imagined? Could they grasp that happiness and hold onto it? Attachment caused suffering, but not being attached meant losing touch with some or possibly all the people in his life. Maybe Zen was not the answer to all questions. Maybe it really did take faith and leaps to prove that faith. Charlie gathered his will and prepared to leap and hoped Dani would leap with him.


	9. Chapter 9 Bars and Locks

Trust is like joy - in that it is fragile, fleeting and fabulous.

If you trust someone once, will you trust them always? Is love synonymous with trust?

Can you risk everything for a moment of joy? For a moment of trust?

Both trust and joy are gifts. They spring unbidden from another... or from within yourself…if you cannot trust yourself no one will ever trust you.

If you trust another you place yourself in their hands, mind, body and soul. _If you cannot find it in yourself, where will you get it from?_

These thoughts occupied the predawn hours of Charlie Crews in his bedroom, circling his head like ripples from a rock thrown into a deep pool. He sat perched on a stiff wooden chair watching the still, sleeping form of his partner Dani Reese. She trusted him, but he was not at all certain that she trusted herself. Something in the past had severely shaken Dani's faith not only in others, but also in herself. One facet of her screamed I trust no one but myself, while another subtly hinted I don't really trust myself either. She wrestled with doubt daily and it troubled her even in sleep, when she should be at peace.

Charlie knew a lot about doubt. All those years in prison when everyone doubted his innocence….and for a while in the middle of all those years Charlie had to admit, he even began to believe - maybe he did it. Then he wondered if he were really there at all – was prison real - or was he trapped in his own mind. Years spent alone meant defining reality for himself and trusting that what he perceived was real. When he first got out of Pelican Bay, Charlie would dream he was still there - inside those claustrophobic greenish gray walls, flickering with sickly fluorescent light and the stillness of a mausoleum. He would wake in a panic, but only his mind kept him trapped; his body was free; so Charlie focused on freeing his mind – allowing himself to be present. Now.

Dani's mind was not free. She was still fleeing the past, which meant it clung to her in ways that kept her from being free. The chains of the mind are not something anyone else can release you from. There is no magical time at which they disappear. When you decide to walk away from them, they dissolve and suddenly you are free, perhaps for the very first time. Some how he wished he could give this gift to her, but realized it was not his to give.

Charlie tried hard to think about what released him – what allowed him to accept the freedom of his mind and the ability to be present. Then he realized that it might have been Ted.

Ted Early was not cut out for life in prison. Charlie's life in prison was hard even brutal, but as a cop he knew the realities of violent crime; Ted did not. But when Charlie chose to stop worrying about himself and instead placed his energy behind preventing Ted from being brutalized – his problems became secondary and he could be free of the prison of his own mind. He could work the problem of protecting Ted and in doing so; Charlie gained some measure of himself back. The selfless act of protecting someone weaker and less capable was the exact opposite of what everyone in prison did – they took, so Charlie gave. He gave support, assistance, counsel and protection and it freed him.

In the pink dawn hours, as the first rays of lights fractured though the windows making dust motes dance, Charlie realized something profound - for Dani, Sarah was Ted. By protecting her, Dani could free herself from the crushing pressure of worry about so many things in her life. He couldn't give her that – but he could give her the chance to do that - for Sarah.

They both needed someone to protect, someone to focus on that they loved more than themselves, someone that came first. For him it was Dani and while he was certain that Dani loved him, this was different, this was about earning your soul back, about giving yourself permission to be free and only selflessness could get you there. When you let go of yourself, you could truly be free; the bars and locks you built around yourself just fell away.

You could not change the past, but you did not have to live there and you did not have to carry it with you. Scars and reminders yes, but not the time – that time had passed and it would never come again – all that remained was to let it go – allow it to sink into the distant memories of a deep ocean - until all that remained was the timeless sea.

********************************************************************************************************************

Dani awoke in a strange place, but one that she knew; it only took her a moment, even before her eyes flickered open to recognize the feel, smell and sense the warmth of Charlie Crews. She smelled his aftershave where it clung to her cheeks and pillow, her arms and legs were tangled in the high thread count luxurious sheets of his massive bed and the sun beat down on her from the large bay window of his east facing bedroom. She couldn't remember how she got there, but knew instantly something was missing and with his name subconsciously tumbling from her lips, she blinked into the new day.

"Charlie" she breathed as she woke. He didn't move, he simply smiled, sitting there backlit by the rising sun, smiling one of those unbelievable, dazzling, hurt your eyes smiles that only Charlie and children under the age of ten seemed capable of delivering. His name on her lips, the one she'd been unable to keep herself from speaking as she woke, hung between them on the slivers of light.

"I love you," he said simply.

Dani found tears in her eyes again, but he there in an instant kissing them away. He worshipped her face with gentle kisses and brushed away her fears, like so many cobwebs in an attic and finally when he was certain she wouldn't cry - he leaned away to look at her.

He patiently and carefully explained what he'd learned from Boone and how he felt it affected Sarah. He explained that if one little girl vanished from the hundreds in child services, no one would really even look for her, all the while thinking about Rachel Seybolt how he could make her disappear there and appear here.

In his mind, Charlie was already planning how he would do it and just who he would get to help him – Jack Reese, the man with a soft spot for little lost girls who needed to redeem himself.

"If want you her – I can give you what you want, but I need to know Dani – is this really what you want?" he asked gently. "We are not going to find Sarah's parents. But we can be them if you want to." He offered her his heart - pinned to a little lost girl in a white sundress with daisies on it.

"How?" she asked incredulous. Charlie smiled inside and the sun shone in his heart, knowing that she made the first step – her concern was not for if it would get them into trouble, or what anyone would say, but simply how they would do it.

"Well, you might not have noticed…but I've got quite a bit of money" pausing for effect. "It's amazing what you can buy with a lot of money.... birth certificates, adoption papers, lots of cool stuff," Charlie teased. "So far I've only used my money for tractors and orange groves, fast cars and toys"

He paused again and his eyes became more serious. "I think that we could do something important here, but this is not a car or a tractor, this is life. This is you and me - in something forever. Are you ready for that?"

She examined him seriously for a moment. "We are partners" she paused and let the realization of her disclosure sink in.

As the realization dawned in Charlie's eyes, she asked "You know this is what I want….but what do you want Charlie?"

"I want you," he said without a moment's hesitation.

She rolled her eyes at him "you already have me… you could have asked for something more" she grinned at him.

"There isn't anything I want more than you" he said simply. An absolute truth.

She threw her arms around him and held him close. He sunk his head into her neck and inhaled the smell and feel of her. Laughing he then whispered very near her ear, so close and soft she thought maybe she imagined it, until he drew back and she saw the desire clouding his eyes. "Sarah won't be the only kid we have right? Cause I'd like to give making some of our own a try…"

**Epilogue…..**

Jack Reese knocked on the door to his daughter's house, the one she shared with Charlie Crews for the past five years. Waiting for the door to open and his wife to catch up, he thought back fifteen years when couldn't fathom a circumstances that would have him and Charlie Crews in the same room, much less for a happy event.

The door was opened by a winsome and wise beyond her years, 23 year old Rachel Seybolt, home from college for the summer, holding a tired three year old boy with bright red hair and bright blue eyes. Jack Crews was his father's son.

"Uncle Jack" Rachel smiled "come in - you know we don't lock doors…."

"Uh, huh" he said kissing Rachel's cheek and taking the boy from her.

"Can you help your aunt with the cake?" as he walked inside the foyer of the giant house.

Gone were the empty echoes of Crews uncluttered life. Instead there were soccer balls, tennis shoes and dog bone and radio controlled car strewn on the marble floor. The house had become a home.

Looking at the photos on the mantle, Jack could see ten year old Sarah's toothy grin; five year old Sam's shy smile that could just as easily be his Dani's, but instead was her daughter's and impish grin of three year old Jack.

In the backyard he caught flashes of the blonde hair and lanky build of Sarah springing lightly through the sprinkler, being pursued by her dark haired younger sister Samantha, so reminiscent of his Dani as a child. The girls were chased through the rainbows created by the water and sun, by a soaking wet golden retriever named, Stitch, who from time to time would stop to shake water from his coat, producing shrieks of delight and cascade of giggles from the Crews girls.

Jack wrestled away from him, climbing down and scampering into the kitchen pronouncing "hungry" to the world. His mother handed him a banana, earning her a vicious scowl and pronouncement of "hot dog" from the boy.

The elder Reese would not have believe the patience parenthood had bestowed on his daughter had he not seen it with his own eyes.

"Jack" she eyed him "you can not eat hot dogs for breakfast. You can have cereal or fruit" so focused on her temperamental son, she had not yet noticed her father. The three year old scowled fiercely and stated flatly "hot dog" again. Dani arched an eyebrow at him and offered an apple, which the boy flatly refused.

"Crews" she barked at her partner, both in work and in life, "deal with your son", she ordered. Charlie Crews looked up from a paper he was reading at his young son, who had inherited his father's looks and his mother's fierce temper. "Jack" he said to both grandfather and grandson.

"Why don't you let me take this one Crews?" the elder Reese said as Rachel and his wife came in carrying bags and a cake in a box. He winked at the younger man who was now a big part of his life. "Come're Jack"

"Don't you guys have a pool?" Jack Reese said motioning at the girls in the sprinkler.

"Yeah, but they like playing in the hose. Kids….right?" Charlie said with feigned exasperation, but a twinkle in his eyes as he disappeared into the kitchen.

In truth, the Crews children wanted for little and were rich beyond their father's bank account. Both Charlie and Dani continued to work as LAPD officers, they spent more time in the office than the field now. Dani was still his Charlie's boss, Captain of Detectives and Crews managing task force operations for the Department, they were seldom apart at work or at home. But their children were the center of their lives - both individually and collectively.

Mrs Reese deposited her bags on the counter and crouched down to her three year old grandson peeling back the banana skin began to talk quietly to him while smiling. To Dani's surprise, little Jack smiled back and took the banana and began to eat it cheerfully.

"How does she do that?" Dani wondered aloud about the magical abilities of her mother with regard to their singularly stubborn son. Charlie slid behind his wife, wrapping his arms around her and murmured in her hair "be thankful for grandma" while he held his wife for a moment. Dani who was almost always moving, stilled and let herself relax in her husband's arms as he reminded her absently to "just breathe" and they did, standing quietly in the sunshine watching their girls playing in the rainbows.

Later that day, after hamburgers and Jack Crews long dreamt of "hot dogs", they sat around the pool, except fair haired Sarah and Charlie who sat in the shade reading a book together. Rachel was sunning and listening to her I-Pod, Dani had put Jack down for a much needed nap and joined her husband in the shade. Charlie raised an arm and fit her perfectly against his side, never missing a word of the book. Jack Reese held his Samantha who was still damp from the sprinkler, while his wife tinkered in the kitchen.

Of all his grandchildren, Samantha was his favorite, she gave him a second chance to be the kind of man he wanted to be when Dani was small, but had failed to be – in his first effort. Sam just like Dani had a girl's name shortened into a boy's, but making her no less beautiful and perfect. She was a miniature of her mother, with her dark expressive eyes and shy smile. Sam snuggled close and sighed sleepily ready for a nap also.

In the quietness of the afternoon, Jack Reese quietly considered his family, which now included a man he had written off fifteen years ago. Charlie Crews was much more than he had ever anticipated. The peacefulness of Crews and his daughter's quiet "moments" shone in their eyes and in those of their happy and well adjusted children, even Sarah who remembered nothing of her past. There were no locks in their house or their hearts.

They chose St Patrick's Day, March 17th as Sarah's arbitrary birthday date. It was the day he and Charlie Crews committed a felony together. Stealing Sarah away from foster care and hiding her behind a forged adoption certificate had perhaps been the most meaningful act of deliberate misconduct in both their eventful and questionable pasts. A sin committed for the greater good of another - an act of redemption.

A fresh start for all of them and freedom from the chains of their past.

**Author's Note:** Children exist in every corner of this world, who are not treated as the exceptional gifts they are. They are used and abused, mistreated and traded like property.

Each life is precious and special, some darkness takes years to recover from, but children have the remarkable capacity to recover and grow strong, straight and true.

They don't need much but they do need protection. When you see a child being abused, say something, do something, be that someone who does instead of looking away.

The sun shines not on you, but in you; the brightest light is invisible, it shines though you and warms the universe.

Be that light to someone, give that light to someone and free yourself, from yourself.


End file.
